THE PHASE I MK 6 LIFE RAFT IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM WILL ASSESS AND IDENTIFY SPECIFIC NEEDS FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MK 6 LIFE RAFT AND WILL SYSTEMATICALLY DEVELOP FEASIBILITY STUDIES OF ALTERNATIVE IMPROVEMENTS WHICH WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO AN IMPROVED TOTAL LIFE RAFT. IMPROVEMENTS WILL BE EVALUATED AT THE COMPONENT AND SUBSYSTEM LEVEL FOR VITAL RELIABILITY-RELATED EQUIPMENTS SUCH AS THE INFLATION SYSTEM AND ENCAPSULATION METHOD. IN-WATER PERFORMANCE RELATED FEATURES SUCH AS THE RAFT SHAPE AND BALLAST SYSTEMS WILL ALSO BE EVALUATED FOR IMPROVEMENT. PHASE I WILL INCLUDE A PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING PLAN FOR THE PHASE II PROGRAM.